Kvitova on top of her game, wins Connecticut Open title

Chris Elsberry

Updated 6:38 pm, Saturday, August 23, 2014

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic kisses her trophy after she won the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.

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NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain chases down a shot as teammate Marina Erakovic of New Zealand looks on during their match against Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain during the doubles final during the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.The team of Klepac and Soler-Espinosa defeated Parra Santonja and Erakovic 7-5,4-6,[10-7]
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NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain chases...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic celebrates her match point win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain serves the ball as teammate Andreja Klepac of Slovenia crouches down in the first set against Arantxa Parra Santonja of Spain and Marina Erakovic of New Zealand during the doubles final during the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.The team of Klepac and Soler-Espinosa defeated Parra Santonja and Erakovic 7-5,4-6,[10-7]
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain serves...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic celebrates her break point win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia in the final game of the final set of the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia returns a shot to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic returns a shot to Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic...

NEW HAVEN, CT - AUGUST 23: Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia returns a shot to Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic during the women's final of the Connecticut Open at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale on August 23, 2014 in New Haven, Connecticut.Kvitova defeated Rybarikova 6-4,6-2 to win the tournament.
Photo: Elsa, Getty Images

NEW HAVEN -- It was a backhand cross-court winner that Magdelena Rybarikova had no chance to get, so she did what everyone else in the Connecticut Tennis Center did -- she simply watched the ball pass her by and then looked across the net as Petra Kvitova raised her arms in the celebration of a champion.

Kvitova, who is starting to make the Connecticut Open her own personal playground, much like Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki did when they were winning four straight titles, rolled past Rybarikova 6-4, 6-2 to win her second championship in three years Saturday before 3,285 -- the smallest crowd ever to witness a tennis final at the CTC.

The No. 4 player in the WTA rankings and the No. 2 seed here, Kvitova didn't lose a set in winning the title, losing just 18 games in her four matches. In fact, Kvitova, the reigning Wimbledon champion, played such consistent tennis that she only had her serve broken three times and committed just 10 double faults.

Kvitova defeated Maria Kirilenko in straight sets to win the championship in 2012 and then lost in the finals last year to Simona Halep. She rolled past Rybarikova to take home her second Connecticut Open crystal vase trophy.

"I will celebrate this," Kvitova said. "From the first match here, I played a really solid game. Everything that I needed to do, I just did it.

"This is something I will enjoy tonight, this title, but tomorrow I have to start thinking about the Grand Slam."

Rybarikova, for one, thinks Kvitova could leave New York City with the Open title.

"It's going to be very interesting," she said. "I think she can win it for sure."

As difficult as it had to be to try to beat Kvitova when she's playing her "A" game, Rybarikova was limited by a hamstring injury that had her pulling up short on a couple of shots and not chasing others down.

"It happened yesterday (during the Camila Giorgi match)," Rybarikova said. "Last night, it was really painful. I wasn't even sure if I could go on the court today. In the beginning (today), it was OK, but then it got worse and worse. It's tough to play like that against a great player."

Both Kvitova and Rybarikova have been good friends and occasional practice partners since they first faced each other in an ITF event in Prague some seven years ago. Both up-and-comers on the WTA Tour at the time, the two played each other three times in 2007 on hard courts along with another hard court meeting in Poitiers, France, in 2010. Kvitova won all four.

But the last time they played, again in Prague in 2011, it was Rybarikova who won.

That tournament, however, was on clay. Back on Kvitova's favorite surface -- this was her 10th title on hard courts -- it was no contest.

"(Kvitova's) an amazing player," Rybarikova said. "Even when she was No. 80 when she was younger, I said she was going to be No. 1. I've played and practiced with her many times. She's just has an amazing game. When she's playing her game, she can beat anybody.

"She can serve, she can return. She moves really well. She's not No. 1 because she was a little bit up and down many times. But I think now she's older and her mental thinking is much better now. I think she's very confident."

Kvitova broke Rybarikova in the sixth game of the opening set to take a 4-2 lead, but Rybarikova fought off set points and then broke Kvitova in the ninth game to pull within 5-4. Kvitova broke right back to win the set.

At 2-2 in the second set, Kvitova won the last four games, breaking Rybarikova twice to finish the match.

"I didn't drop a set, I'm impressed with that," Kvitova said. "In the end, the only thing that's important is winning the last point. I did that. That's why I have this beautiful trophy."

Kvitova's victory was worth $120,000. Rybarikova, playing in her first premier Tour final ever, took home $64,000.

In the doubles, the team of Andreja Klepec and Silvia Soler-Espinosa defeated Arantxa Parra Santonja and Marina Erakovic 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 (super tiebreak) to win the title and the $38,000 check.